reflection – Page 2 – Ruthann M. Wilson

Fall Reflections: Gather your gifts, blessings, and life lessons

Hello October!

I don’t know about you, but I can hardly believe it is the last quarter of the calendar year. What a journey it has been from January to today!

I welcome the change of season and the gifts and opportunities that it brings. Autumn is a season of harvest, thanksgiving, reflection, completion, and letting go of of things that no longer bring you joy or serve your highest good.

Quiet Reflection

This month is a good time to begin harvesting by asking yourself questions like “What did I learn?”, “How did I grow?”, “Who or what has been my greatest blessing?”. Asking and answering these questions in writing is a wonderful way to bring awareness to the gifts, blessings, and life lessons that have been provided to you this year. Schedule time to sit in quiet reflection and answer the suggested questions or create your own. Set an intention to make this process a seasonal practice, if it isn’t already one. Use the power of the written word to solidify this practice.

Evaluate Progress

It’s also a great time to evaluate progress relative to your goals. If you have formal goals, check your progress relative to the milestones you established at the beginning of the year. If you don’t have formal goals, think about what you set out to accomplish at the beginning of the year and what you have accomplished to date. In evaluating progress, think not only about what you have accomplished, but who you have become as a part of the process.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you know someone who might benefit from reading it, please share by clicking on a share button below.

All the best,

Ruthann

In-Progress, LLC | Walk your path with intention, at your own pace

Know Yourself: The Key to Personal Success

SUCCESS is deeply personal and likely to change as you journey through life. Regardless of your age, it’s important to have your own definition of success to inspire and guide you. When you know what is important to you, and you understand why it’s important, you build a great foundation. This helps in creating your own definition of success.

This week, I invite you to deepen your knowledge about yourself. Use the power of the written word to work through the following:

💥KNOW who you are. Identify 3-5 positive “I AM” statements that describe you at your core. Affirm these qualities on a daily basis.

💥KNOW your values/what is most important to you. Write down 3-5 core values.

💥KNOW the reason(s) the values you identified are most important to you.

💥ENVISION what your life would look like if you were living your values. If your life is exactly as you envisioned, high five! If not, start to make changes to bring your life into alignment with your values.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you know someone who will gain from reading it, please share by clicking on a share button below.

All the best,

Ruthann

In-Progress, LLC | Walk your path with intention, at your own pace

Harnessing the Power of Questions for Personal Growth

A regular practice of asking and answering powerful questions is a great way to keep yourself open to possibility and moving forward; however, not all questions are created equal. For example, asking yourself “Why am I stuck?” will yield a lot of reasons as to why you’re stuck. Important to know, but it doesn’t move you to action. A powerful follow-up question would be “What is the best thing I can do right now to move forward?” This two-step line of questioning yields insight as well as creativity and action.

The word power is defined as influence. A powerful question will influence how you think and feel and motivate you to action. Asking and answering questions can be easily incorporated into your journal practice OR simply use a notebook to begin this practice. There is power in putting your questions and answers in writing.

If you need support in creating a journal practice, check out my video about creating a journal practice.

All the best,

Ruthann

In-Progress, LLC | Walk your path with intention, at your own pace

Master Prioritization: Align Your Actions with What Matters

“Things that matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least.”—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Prioritization is a powerful way to bring clarity and focus to your life. Becoming aware of where you have gaps between what you say is important and what you actually do on a day-to-day basis is the first step to creating better alignment between priorities and actions.

This week’s challenge:

🔸Begin each day with a list of your three most important priorities and actions.

🔸End your day by reviewing your priorities and actions.

🔸Did you focus on your most important priorities? If so, make note of what helped you stay focused on your top priorities. If not, why not? Use what you learn to make changes/adjustments.

If there is a gap between your priorities and action, see it as an opportunity for personal growth. Recommit to your list of priorities and take action.

The same practice of prioritization that brings clarity to life also strengthens your ability to focus on career goals and professional growth.

All the best,

Ruthann

In-Progress, LLC | Walk your path with intention, at your own pace

Spring Reflections: Awakening, Clearing, and New Beginnings

Each season brings gifts and opportunities for growth as we journey through the year. Spring is a season of hope and possibility.

On a personal level, spring invites us to start fresh, be hopeful, joyful, creative, and open to possibility. There are many ways to embrace the season: cleaning and clearing clutter, starting a new project, setting meaningful goals, and reconnecting with nature and the planet we call home, just to name a few.

The spring ritual of cleaning and clearing out clutter is a great way to transition into the energy of the season to make room for new beginnings, new opportunities, and new blessings to come into your life. A great place to start is to clean and clear your home/space of:

Things you no longer need or use.
Things you no longer feel connected to.
Things that keep you stuck/anchored in the past.

Begin a new project

Life is always inviting us to reach, stretch, and grow. Initiate a new beginning by starting a new project or setting a new goal that will help you stretch and grow. Stay open to possibility and be willing to leave your comfort zone.

Deepen your sense of connection to nature and the planet that is our home.

Spend time in natural settings and experience the beauty of the season as it unfolds.
Plant and nurture seeds/seedlings and watch them grow.
Make direct contact with the earth. Put your bare feet on the ground, sit or lay down on the ground.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. You can receive notifications of new posts by clicking on the follow button or click here to join my mailing list to receive email updates. If you know someone that might benefit from reading this post, please share it by clicking on a share button below.

All the best,
Ruthann

Embrace Your Career Journey: The Power of Being Present

In addition to being a writer/author, I’ve had a long and fruitful career in corporate America. I had an opportunity to speak with a group of graduating students about my work and experience growing a career in a corporate setting. The students were a part of intensive training program that provided them with technical and professional skills. I love new beginnings and the energy of new graduates about to embark on their careers. I recall graduating from college and being excited about my first job post graduation. I had a very supportive supervisor and transition into my career.

One of the six career lessons that I shared with the graduates is to be where you are. The lesson was shared through a corporate lens; however, it’s also a powerful life lesson.

My message as it relates to being where you are in a corporate setting is to know what is expected of you, do your current job really well, and be open to new assignments/opportunities that can help you stretch and grow into the next role. Oftentimes, when people are early in a career, the goal is get to the next level quickly. The focus often becomes getting promoted/getting to the next level instead of learning, growing, excelling, and enjoying their current role. Moving too quickly can be problematic when an employee is promoted and not prepared for their next role. I encouraged them to be fully present and embrace the journey of growing into their next role.

The bigger life lesson is to live in the here and now; not in the past or in the future, but where you are right now. You can make the most of where you are by cultivating habits and practices that enable you stay grounded and present in your life. A few things to consider:

Give thanks for your life, even if it’s not exactly as you wish it to be
Reduce multi-tasking and focus on doing one thing at a time
Give other people the gift of your full attention
Spend time in nature and literally put your feet on the ground
Be intentional with your time
Breathe deeply
Meditate/embrace silence

Being where you are is about making the most of where you are right now. It has a way of opening doors and drawing people and opportunities to you.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. You can receive notifications of new posts by clicking on the follow button or click here to join my mailing list to receive email updates. If you know someone that might benefit from this message, please share by clicking on a share button below.

All the best,

Ruthann

In-Progress, LLC | Walk your path with intention, at your own pace

Year-End Reflection Practices to Finish Strong

This year (2022), I’m revisiting the practice of finishing strong. In this short video, I provide suggestions to bring the year to a close in a way that sets you up for success in the year ahead.

Evaluate progress toward your goals.
Celebrate what you have accomplished to date.
Complete what needs to be completed.
Make room for something new.

To support your reflection, I’ve included a downloadable worksheet updated for 2022 so you can work through the exercises step by step. You can access the worksheet here .

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All the best,

Ruthann

Unlocking Your Intuition: 4 Essential Techniques

Your intuition is a rich source of information that is always available to you. There are many ways to tap into your intuition. Here are a few:

Questions: Ask your wise self a question and listen [deeply] for an answer. You may receive an answer immediately or it may take a few days or even weeks. Be patient and trust the process. Link to Harnessing the Power of Questions for Personal Growth.

Silence: Give yourself the gift of silence on a daily basis so that you can cultivate peace and calm to hear your inner guidance. Link to The Power of Silence.

Keep a journal: Put your thoughts on paper without filtering what you are writing. Review and reflect on what you have captured in your journal on a regular basis. Link to Journal Practice: Tips and Benefits.

Take action: Taking action on inner guidance opens the door for you to receive more.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I hope you found it helpful. If you know someone who might benefit, please share it by clicking on a share button below.

All the best,

Ruthann

Fall Reflections: Harvest, Release, and Completion

Each season brings gifts and opportunities for growth as we journey through the year.

Autumn is a season of harvest, reflection, thanksgiving, completion, and releasing/letting go of things that no longer bring you joy or serve your highest good.

Autumn questions:

What have I accomplished this year?
What didn’t I accomplish that I really wanted to? Why?
Who or what has been my greatest blessing? Why?
What in my life is complete/ready to be released so that I can embrace the next phase of my journey?
How can I release what is complete with gratitude and love?

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I hope you found it helpful. If you know someone who might benefit, please share it by clicking on a share button below.

All the best,

Ruthann

Link to Spring Spring: Start Fresh

Link to Winter Winter Themes

Link to Summer Hello Summer!

Daily Acts of Faith: Empower Your Journey

I believe life is a personal journey of faith and process of empowerment.

Simply stated, faith is our ability to move forward with positive expectancy. What is positive expectancy? It’s belief and trust in a favorable outcome.

Faith enables us to dream big, set goals, and trust the process of bringing our dreams to life. It also enables us to stay open to more than one outcome. If things don’t go as planned, trust (a key component of faith) enables us to ask “What did I learn?”, “How did I grow?” and use the lessons learned to keep moving forward in faith that you are being guided to your highest good.

Staying focused on your goals and staying open to more than one outcome is not easy. It requires trust in the process and guidance from within. I believe we cultivate and strengthen our connection to inner guidance through a daily practice of silence. I invite you to read my post Give yourself the gift of silence if you would like to learn more.

So, what are daily acts of faith? They are actions that you take on a daily basis to stretch and grow out of your “comfort” zone. Acts of faith are rooted in a vision of a desired future state.

Suggestion to get started:

Think about one area of your life where you feel stuck or discouraged.
Envision a desired future state and write it down or find an image that captures what you envision. Give yourself permission to dream BIG.
Create a powerful affirmation that aligns with your future state and work with it on a daily basis. I invite you to watch my video on The Power of Affirmations (Video) if you would like to learn more.
Each day, for the next 30 days, commit (in writing) to taking three actions to move toward your desired future state.
Hold yourself accountable by reviewing your commitments and actions at the end of each day.
Create time and space to listen to inner guidance.
Assess your progress using this process in 30 days.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you know someone who might benefit, please share it by clicking on a share button below.

All the best,

Ruthann